Pennsylvania pilot car regulations
Certification: not required. Regular pilot car drivers do not need a certification in Pennsylvania. Only Certified Escort Vehicle drivers, who escort superloads instead of State Police, must be certified by PennDOT: age 21+, 3 years escort experience, 8-hour class with exam, defensive driving course and flagger training.
From Pennsylvania's own rules and pages, checked 2026-10-24. Rules change: the state's page is the last word.
- Certification program
- PennDOT Certified Escort Vehicle (CEV) program for superload movesSource
- Other states' cards
- For the superload certification, a Pennsylvania class is not required if certification was obtained in Virginia, Georgia, North Carolina, Colorado/Utah, Florida or Washington.
- Minimum age
- 21 (Certified Escort Vehicle drivers only)
- Escort vehicle
- The regulation does not set a vehicle type for ordinary pilot cars. A Certified Escort Vehicle for superloads must be an FHWA Class 2 or 3 vehicle (car or pickup/van), show a PennDOT-approved emblem, have visibility all around, and may not tow.Source
- Sign
- When a pilot car is required, a clean yellow sign at least 5 feet wide by at least 1 foot high with only the words "OVERSIZE LOAD" in black letters at least 8 inches high, mounted on both the front and the rear of the pilot car.
- Lights
- One or two flashing or revolving amber lights, run continuously during the move.
- Height pole
- For loads over 14 feet 6 inches high, a pilot car must run 1,000 to 3,000 feet ahead with a height pole or other height sensing device.
- Other equipment
- Visual and two-way radio contact with the permitted vehicle. Certified Escort Vehicles also carry: cell phone, STOP/SLOW paddle, ANSI Type II hard hat, ANSI Class 2 or 3 vest, 3 cones or channelizing devices, red flares or glow sticks, fire extinguisher, traffic wand flashlight, first aid kit, spare tire, jack and lug wrench; no red or blue lights or badges.
- Insurance
- Permittee and its contractors, including pilot car owners, must carry public liability and property damage insurance of at least $250,000 per person and $1 million per occurrence, with the Commonwealth added as an additional insured (67 Pa. Code 179.7).Source
- State's own list
- about 55 (Certified Escort Vehicle operators for superloads) listed · updated 10/2020Source